Ibadan woman says Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers thug abducted and forcefully married her

IBADAN chemist Omowumi Lamidi has told a Mapo Customary Court that her husband used his position as a leading member of the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to abduct her and force into a marriage against her wish.

Testifying during her divorce proceedings, Mrs Lamidi said that her estranged husband Mukaila, used his position to force her into marriage about 10 years ago. She told the court that her parents were helpless about the situation and urged asked that they be separated because she did not consent to the marriage.

Omowumi said: “Mukaila used his position as a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in Ibadan to exploit me when he kidnapped me 10 years ago into a marriage, which I never wanted. On that day, Mukaila sent some hooligans to carry me into his home without my parents’ consent and in fact, he was the one, who deflowered me.

“Since then, he had maintained that I remained the best among all his wives and concubines. With my experience as a chemist, I refused to get pregnant for him despite all his forceful sexual intercourse with me but three years ago, I decided to have a baby for Mukaila because I knew that I was not getting any younger and there was no means of breaking out of his shackles.

“I even stood by him when he was sentenced to prison a few years ago. When Mukaila returned from the prison, he resumed his assault on me and his latest hit was his threat to take my life.”

Court president Chief Ademola Odunade in his ruling dissolved the 10-year-old union between the duo based on the exploitation and the threat to life raised by Omowumi. Chief Odunade also advised Omowumi to avoid confrontation with Mukaila, popularly known as Auxiliary, for her safety.

He awarded the custody of the three-year-old child produced by the union to Omowumi and ordered Mukaila to pay a monthly feeding allowance of N5,000 for the child’s upkeep. Chief Odunade also ordered Mukaila to be responsible for the child’s welfare, including education.